Hone your feedback skills with these tips

One of the most significant—and most difficult—
jobs in management is learning to give feedback that
employees will listen to and learn from. Sharpen
your skills with this advice:

• Reinforce positive behavior. Many managers are
quick to let people know when they’re doing
something wrong. But workers will be more
receptive to—and less demoralized by—criticism
if you remember to praise the things they’re doing
right as well.
• Take responsibility for your words. Don’t try to
hide behind the group when offering criticism. If
you say, “We feel …” or “Everyone thinks …,”
the employee will feel as if the whole team is
ganging up on him or her. Stick to your guns, and
tell the employee what you’ve honestly observed.

• Stick to business. Don’t get personal with
feedback. Speculating on an employee’s motives,
for example, can spark defensiveness and hostility.
Limit your criticism and praise to job-related
behaviors.

• Don’t dump. You may have 10 examples of an
employee’s mistakes, but you don’t have to share
all of them. When offering criticism, give one or
two examples to graphically illustrate your point.
Going beyond that can overwhelm employees and
leave them feeling attacked.

• Listen to employees. Once you’ve offered your
feedback, give employees a chance to respond.
Even if they simply try to rationalize the behavior,
giving them a chance to speak their minds will
help them feel better about the situation.
—Adapted from the ClearRock website